


Empty Lungs

by aravenwood



Series: Whumptober 2020 [10]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Asphyxiation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Torture, Nicky | Nicolò di Genova Whump, Nightmares, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:47:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26991634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aravenwood/pseuds/aravenwood
Summary: Nicky has a nightmare he's back in the lab with Dr Kozak. Joe reminds him that he's safe.Written for the Whumptober 2020 prompt "oxygen mask"
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Whumptober 2020 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947343
Comments: 17
Kudos: 190
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Empty Lungs

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Just a short one today I'm afraid (like the others have been giants...), but I'm quite happy with it. I decided that I wanted to use the prompt "oxygen mask" but wasn't entirely sure how I could integrate it into an Old Guard fic. But I also happen to be acting as a beta reader this year for a big fan of MacGyver (curse you UK for not having this show available anywhere!) - [ TetrodotoxinB ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TetrodotoxinB/pseuds/TetrodotoxinB), check out their awesome fics! - and remembered a very whumpy gif from that show which I still look at regularly, in which Mac is forced to inhale pure nitrogen as a method of interrogation. I decided hey, why not let Nicky have a taste of that!
> 
> Please enjoy! Thank you for reading!

_The mask is tight on his face, the strap too tight and the edges digging painfully into his cheeks. He tosses his head one way and the other in an attempt to dislodge it but it’s as if they’ve taken the time to glue it to his face._

_Nicky is flat on his back on a metal table, his wrists and ankles bound to the corners and leaving him spread wide and frighteningly vulnerable. They’ve taken his clothes too, leaving him in nothing but his underwear - it’s an unnecessary step thus far as they’ve barely touched him except to strap on the mask, but he’s been in similar situations often enough that he recognises the gesture as another step taken to frighten and disorient him._

_He hates that it’s working._

_The “doctor” - a monster who really doesn’t deserve as grand a title - fidgets with a gas canister hooked up to the mask. Nicky narrows his eyes to a squint and manages to read a few of the words on the side of the canister. A big one really stands out and has him fighting against his bonds._

_Nitrogen._

_He’s seen this before, not in real life but on television. A man strapped to a chair, a mask forced over his nose and mouth, his back arching and his eyes taking on a glazed look as the nitrogen fills his lungs. It’s like drowning, the villain says, and it looks like it too._

_Nicky wants to be sick. It won’t kill him, obviously, but he’s experienced the pain of drowning too many times already and he’s not sure he can face the sensation of drowning without a drop of water._

_He doesn’t have much of a choice as he feels a cold breath on his skin beneath the mask. Instinctively he holds his breath, focuses all of his energy on not taking in a single breath of nitrogen. He’s good at that, and it’s all he can do._

_But then the doctor is there, standing over him. She watches him impassively for a moment, expression unreadable. Nicky wiggles the fingers of his left hand in a quick wave, and almost smirks as she narrows her eyes to a glare._

_He doesn’t see her pick up the scalpel, but hhe definitely notices when she lifts it above her head and swings it down into his thigh._

_His mouth flies open to scream and the nitrogen floods into his lungs._

_The burn in his leg is quickly replaced by the burning in his lungs. He can feel his chest constricting, can feel his lungs protesting. His back arches off the table as he fights for clean air, air that won’t burn like this does. But the mask is so tight against his face that it’s all he can get, his struggles only drawing in more nitrogen. His thrashing intensifies, the restraints slicing into his skin. He barely notices the pain._

_The doctor watches his struggles with a smirk. “If you think this is bad,” she sneers, teeth bared predatorily, “your boyfriend is going to feel so much worse.”_

_As if on cue, a wild scream erupts from somewhere outside the room. It’s so much worse than anything he’s ever heard before and he wants to be sick, wants to strangle the doctor with his bare hands. But more than that, he wants to break free from this torture chamber, murder every single fuck who stands between him and his love, and run._

“-Nicolo, amore mio. Destati. Per favore. Destati. Wake up, Nicky.”

Nicky lets out a low moan and uncurls himself from the tiny fetal position he’s rolled into during the nightmare. His chest is burning, it feels like he’s drowning and he’s terrified that the mask is still there. He paws at his face, and when he finds nothing he claws at it instead. The mask must be here, there must be a reason he can’t breathe.

Soft hands pull his arms away from his face. “Nicky, it’s alright. Just breathe, it was just a nightmare. You’re safe, it’s all fine. Just take some deep breaths, ok?” Joe sooths, bowing his head so his face is mere inches from Nicky’s.

A nightmare. Safe. Nicky forces himself to breathe in time with Joe’s own inhales, focusing on the warm eyes locked with his own and the sweet smile playing on Joe’s lips. And slowly, breath by breath, his chest opens.

And finally, he can breathe again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
